Percival iv brine



June 5, 1923.

F. F. BRINE ELECTRICAL HEATER FOR OIL WELLS Filed March 22 1921 vmluraifimdllllllll lllllllllllw uanmmilmmnw 2 Sheets-$heet 1 June 5,1923.

P. F. BRINE ELECTRICAL HEATER FOR OIL WELLS- F'iled March 22 1921 2Sheets-Sheet 2 '50 wherein:

Patented June 5', 1923.

. v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

PERGIVAL F. BRINE, .OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO OIL WELLSRENEWAL COMPANY, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, aconronnrronornnLAwARE.:

ELECTRICAL HEATER m OIL' WELLS.

Application filed March 22, 1921. Serial No. 454,582.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, PERCIVAL F. BRINE, a citizen of the United States,residin at Boston, in the county of Suffolk, and tate ,5 ofMassachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Electrical Heaters forOil Wells, of which the following descript on, in connection with theaccompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on .10 thedrawings representing llke parts.

The invention to be hereinafter described relates to electric heatersfor oil wells.

Parafline and other products accumulate in oil wells, and materiallyinterfere with .15 the free fiow of the oil from the terrain into .thewells, with consequent reduction of the output of the well. r One of thepurposes of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a simple,ef-,2 ficient, commercially practicable. heater which may be lowered intothe oil well, and raise the temperature therein so as to fuse or meltthe parafiine and other heavy prod,- ucts, so that they will notobstruct the free 2 flow of oil into the Well from the surrounding oilbearing terrain; I Another purpose of the invention is to provide aheater of a-length which may be substantially equal to the depth of thesand stratum through which the oil flows into the well, the constructionbeing such that paraffine or other obstructing matters may be melted andremoved throughout the depth of the portion ofthe oil well which extendsthrough the sand stratum. In carrying this feature of the invention intopractical effect, simple, efiicient means is provided for providing astrong, durable construction for the I purpose.

vide simple and efiicient means for conducting the electric current tothe heater, and for raising, lowering" and suspending theheaten, m

With the aforesaid and other purposes in view, the character of theinvention will be best understood by reference to the followingdescription of one good form thereof shown in the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an electric heater embodying theinvention, certain parts being shown in section; H v Fig. 2 on anenlarged scale is a vertical .55 longitudinal section through theheater;

Fig. '3 is a horizontal section taken' on i line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal line4-4ofFig.2; Fig. 5 is an end view ofthe'lower end of the heater; Fig. 6 on an enlarged scale is a verticalsection through one of the heater units;

' Fig. 7 on an enlargedscale is a horizontal section takenon line 7--7of Fig. 6; f

Fig.8 is a horizontal section taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 2; r

Fig. 9 is ahorizontal section taken on line 99 of Fig. 2; and f Fig. 10is a section through end portions of tandem heating units.

Referring to the drawings, the heater shown therein as one good formofthe invention, comprises preferably a plurality of section taken onheater units 1, and since these units are .3. by a sleeve 11 of mica orother suitable insulation material. 1 1 r r The lower end ofthe coil isconnected to a stud 13 having a portion 15 threaded into a plug .17entered into the tube 3 and separated therefrom by a sleeve 19 of micaor other suitable insulation material. The stud 13 has a portion '21threaded into a lug 1 7 of a similar heating unit, asmore fuly-hereinafter described.

Suitable substance or vided to transmit the heat of the electricresistance coil 5 to the tube 3. The material, in the present instance,is in the form of finely ground or pulverulent mica 23 which.

material maybe pro:

is introduced intothe tube so as to surround the coil and fill the spacebetween the coil andthe tube. I I i .Heretofore, so far as I am aware,inoil well heaters the space between the electrical resistance wire ortube hasbeen occupied by air or other gas, so'that the heat must betransmitted by radiation from the wire or coil to thetube containing it.In the present construction, on the other hand, the heat is directlyconducted by the powdered mica from the: coil to the tube, withmaterially more efiicient-heatingeiiect.

In some instances a unit such as described may be sufficiently long toserve the purposes required. In other instances it may be desirable toprovide a heater of greater length. To accomplish this, a plurality ofsuch heater units may be provided in end-to-end or tandem relation, Forpurposes of illustration, two such units are shown in end-to-endrelation, and are connected by the threaded stud 13 referred to, whichmay have asbestos in sulation 1d. v To strengthen the construction andsecurely hold t'he units 'in proper alignment, they may be introducedwith a close fit into a tube 25, of copper or other suitable material,having a length substantially corresponding to the number of heaterunits employedin endto-end relation.

There is no air space between the unit tubes '3 and the outer tube 25,and as a consequence, the heat is directly conducted from the coilthrough the powdered mica to the tubes3, and thence through the outertube 25 to the oil surrounding the latter.

The number of-heating units may be va- "r'iedas requirechbut in thepresent instance of the invention, SlX such unitsare arranged in agro'upand conveniently disposedin a circle.- Theupper ends of the outer tubesof the units maybe entered into'holes in an upper head 27, and may bebrazed or otherwise secured in said holes. The lower ends of the outertubes-of the units may entered into holes in a lower head 2 9,fand maybe brazed or otherwise secured thereto.

To strengthen the tubes and hold the same in proper spaced relation,members or disks 31 may be provided at suitable intervals intermediatethe upper and lower heads, and may have holes extending therethrough,through which the outer tubes are inserted and brazed or otherwisesecured thereto.

"The lower head 29 may-have a cap 33, desirably of conical form andprovided witha flange 35' connected by screws 37 withthe head 29, agasket 39 of asbestos or-other'suitable material being interposedbetween the body and cap to prevent entrance of oil into the head. Afilling 41 0f asbestos or other suitable material-may be provided forthe lower head 29- further'to prevent leakage of oil i-nto the head--The'binding posts 7' for the lower ends of the units may project intothe lowerhead, and pairs of said binding posts may beconnectedby'b'ridge platesl3 (Fig. 9) apertu-red to receive said bindingposts, and held by adjusting nuts 4C5. y y The means for supporting theheater'and supplying electric current to the units,fin the presentinstance of the invention, is in the form of a heavy conducting cable 49(Figs. 1', 2' and 4). comprisin a strong fabric 51: en-

. closed by heavy spirally wound wire strands 53. The lower end portionsof these wires may be unwound and divided into groups of wires 55 whichmay be looped through eyes in ears 57 projecting from a flange 59 of acollar 61 secured by screws 63 to the upper head 27, a gasket 65 ofasbestos or other suitable material being interposedbetween the sleeve:vflange and: the upper head to prevent leakage between them. y

' The internal diameter of the sleeve 61 may be substantially the sameas the external diameter of the cable fabric 51,. which may have a lowerend portion projecting down through said sleeve. To prevent leakage, thesleeve 61 may have a recess therein receiving a packing 67bit asbestosor other suitable material held by a gland 69 which may be; adjusteddownward and secured by a; 'fl'ange collar 71 threaded t0 the'sleeveducting cable contains three conductors 73 enclosed in rubber tubes 75encased by fabric tubes 77 which are encased in turn by the tubularfabric 5lre'lerred' to.

The pairs of units which are not connected by the lower bridge plates43'may be connectedby upper bridge plates 78. The conductors 73 may projectdown into the upper head and have contact arms79 apertured and secured"by nuts 81 and-83 to alternate posts of the upper binding posts 7.Theconstruction'is such that the un'itsare eonnectedin series. andreceive polyphase alternating currents, although direct current could beused if desired.

The space in the u-pperhead 27' surrounding the electric conductors maybe filled with asbestos 85 orother suitable material. The constructionis such that the cable 49 serves the dual function of con-- taining theelectric conductors which supply the current to the heating unit, and ofsupporting the heater. As a result, the heater may be raised or loweredand suspended by a strong cable, and the conduc-.

tors are contained within the cable so as to be protected thereby. Thenecessity of separate cables to supply the current to the heater and tosupport the heater iseli1ninated;

In operation, the heater'may be lowered into the oil well, and" electriccurrent may be furnished from any suitable source, of supply to theheater. VVhen thecurrent'i's turned on, it will pass through theeonductors to the heating units, and as it passes through the electricresistance coils of' the units, they will become quickly heated", andthis heat will be directly transmitted or conducted by the pulverulentmioato.- the In thepresent instance, the electrical contubes 3 and theoutertubes'2 5, and sinceflthe latter' are indi1-ect "contact withtheoil in the" well, the latterwill' be directly; heated, "and its;temperature will' quickly raised =to1the' proper point for fusing ormelting the parafiine or'other products in qu'ence' in construction, andefficient inoperation;

It will be understood that theinvention is not limited to the"specificembodiment shown, and-that various deviations may be madetherefrom' without. departingvfrom the spirit and'scopeof theappendedclaims.

Whatis'claimed is a a 1. Anelectric heaterfor oil wells, com? prisingapair of hollow, liquid tight; heads, tubes" connecting'said heads,electrical resistanc'evcoilsi mounted within the tubes in spacedrelation'to the walls thereof, a substance filling the space between thecoils and the tubes for conductingheat'from the coils 'to the -tubes,itube'spacing means lo- 'cated intermediate saidheads tohold-the tubes inspaced relation, and conductorsfor supplying current to said coils; f

2. An electric heaterwfor oil wells, comprising a pair of hollow liquidtightheads,

tubes. connectings'aidlheads, electrical re sistance coils mountedwithin the tubes in spaced relation to the walls thereof, conductorswithin the heads for said coils,

powered insulating material packed within the heads to form a conductorfor heat and to further exclude liquid from the conductors, a cableextending into one of said heads, and a stufiing box for preventingliquid from entering the head about the cable.

8. An electric heater for oil wells, comprising a pair of heads, tubesconnecting said heads, electrical resistance coils mounted within thetubes in spaced relation to the walls thereof, a pulverulent substancefilling the space between the coils and the tubes for conducting heatfrom the coils to the tubes, tube spacing means located intermediatesaid heads to hold the tubes in spaced relation and comprising a diskhaving spaced apertures through which the tubes extend, and conductorsfor supplying current to said coils.

4:. An electric heater for oil wells, comprising a hollow liquid tighthead, tubes connected to said head and extending therefrom, electricalheating coils mounted within the tubes in spaced relation to the wallsthereof, a supporting cable secured to the head and having conductorwires within the cable that extend into the head, and

packing means for ipreventingfmoisture from entering the :"head aboutthe conductor wiresa I .5 5. An-electri c fon oil wellsfcom prising apair of tight heads, tubes connecting said heads,.*electrical heatingcoils mounted 1 within {the tubes in .spaced relation tov thexw'alls"thereof, *conductors within-said heads'for the coils, a pulverulentsubstance 1 filling each head furtherto. pre--' vent moisture fromreaching the conductors,

a cable forsupporting the heater .and.fsurrounding conductor wires thatextend into one of saidheadsand supplycurrent-to:the" j and closely.fitting the wwrought iron tube 1 and having ends :secured, inssa'id:heads, electric resistance c011." mounted in. said wrought. iron tubeand spaced and lnsulated therefrom, and pulverulent mica filling-thespace inthe iron] tube surrounding the coil for directly conducting theheat fromt he coil to the ironutube- :7. An electrical heater for oilW6ll$,-CQII;1-

prising a pair. of heads, tubesconnecting said heads, electricalresistance coils mounted in and spaced} from said. tubes, :a, substancefilling the space between the coils andthe tubes forrc'onducting wheatfrom. the'coils to1the tubes, and-a cable having electrical conductingwires projecting into'the upper head and supplying current to saidcoils,

said cable having wires secured to said head for supporting the heater.

8. An electrical heater for oil wells, comprising upper and lower heads,tubes connecting said heads, electrical resistance members in said tubesand spaced and insulated therefrom, pulverulent mica filling the spacebetween the electrical resistance members and tubes for conducting theheat directly from the former to the latter,a cable having'wires securedto the upper head, and conducting wires projecting into said head tosupply current to said electrical resistance members, and means toprevent leakage of oil past said cable into the head. a

9. An electrical heater for oil wells, comprising upper and lower heads,containers connecting said heads, electrical resistance members in saidcontainers and spaced and insulated therefrom, a pulverulent substancefilling the space in the containers surrounding the electricalresistance members, a

heavy cable provided with a wire sheath thereon having end portionssecured to the upper head to support the heater, and conducting wires'insaid cable projecting into prising a head,-aj plurality. of heatingunits secured to and depending from said head, each of said unitscomprising a tube secured to said head, anelectrical resistance coil insaid tube and spaced and insulated therefrom, powdered mica filling thespace, betweenzthe coil; and the tube to conduct heat fromv the formerto the latter, a cable connected to said head for supporting the heaterand having conductors for supplying current to. the electric'resistancecoils. i .11.. An electrical heater for oilwvells, comprising a headhaving a collar secured thereto. provided .with apertured ears, heatingunits secured to and depending from the head,eachcompr1s1ng a tube, anelectrical resistance coil mounted i in the tube and spaced andinsulated therefrom, pulverul'ent mica filling the space in the tubesurrounding the coil, and-a cable having wiresentered throughand'secured to the apertured ears, and conducting Wires; projecting intothe head for supplying current to the electrical resistance coils.

12.'An electrical heater for oil wells, comprising, in combination,upper and lower heads, heating units arranged in tandem relation, eachof said units comprising a tube,

an electrical resistance coil mounted in and spaced and insulated fromthe tube, pul- -verulent insulation material filling the space-connecting the adjacent endsof the tandem nae-moo imits, and ai-tubecontaining); and closely fitting the;- units having ,itsjend'ssecured to the upper and lower headscrespectively,

13;Anelectrical heater for oil wells, comprisinga plurality ofelectrical heating units ing the space between the coil. and tube forconducting heat from the former to thelatter, a tube havinga lengthsufficient to receive the tubes of theunitsin tandem relation,.vand.means tosupply electric current to the-coils.-,j v I v 14;. Anelectrical heater for oil wells, comprising upper and -lower heads,groups-of heating units, each comprising a tube, an electricalresistance coil mounted in and spaced and insulated from the tube,binding posts projecting" from theyunits into the upper head, binding.posts projecting vfrom the units; into the. lower head, bridge contactsconnecting pairs ofthe lower binding posts,

bridge contacts connecting the upper binding ,1;

posts of the units which arenot connected by the bridge contacts for thelower binding posts, and means to supply electrical current torthe unitsthrough certain of the upper binding posts.

In testimony. whereof, I have signed my name to this specification. I 4

rEncivAL F; mm;

